A moment in Tokyo

The man finally got the chance to see his friend in childhood after a long time without contact. But he astonishedly found out that his friend did not exist at all

Submitted:Dec 2, 2011
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I can't figure out how the idea came to my mind.But once
conceived,it stretched me day and night into constant
delusion.The devil of my heart kept cramming his unreasonable
temptation into my mind until it managed to persuade me into
making that decision.

Perhaps the overtired soul needs a brief release from the
constrained social life.I chose to take a chance to
Tokyo.Everything seemed to be so natural that it's not necessary
to act for getting a privilge from the boss. The sound of the
plane taking off was just like a chuckle from the spectres:"You
coward,stop your hopeless,attempt of getting rid of us.You can't
get awy from us,sooner or later,you'll come back to us. I
attempted to calm down myself from the relentless anxiety.The
plane was caught by turbulance several times.The wicked,violent
shaking appeared like a fiend tossing the delicate aircraft like
a toy. It's impossible to say how much time I've spent in that
damned plane.

The first view mapped in my eyes was the melancholy cloud and the
gentle rain falling upon the earth.It brought out the city of
Tokyo--my destination. The wind howled as if releasing its
anger.It tore at my hair and the rain wetted the suit I wore,and
chilled the very marrow in my bone. However,a strong emotion
drove me into the heart of Tokyo,swaying,soaked with cold
sweat.There passed students with typical school uniforms,giggling
with hilarious gesticulation.The steam from the local restaurant
wriggled up and faded away in the dusty sky. I took out of a
scuffed paper which had been frequently taken out from his pocket
and folded away.The address on the paper released a little bit of
my depression."Yuko"I vented my happiness through a smile on my
face which nearly approached into a chuckle.It had been such a
long time I haven't seen her.Nevertheless,those memories of
happiness inscribed trails in my brain which cannot be erased.

I walked across the square where young couples sitted in
benches,repeating confessions which were far from being
fashionable.The countless buildings seemed to be blocking me from
arriving my destination.But they culdn't stop me.I whispered to
myself.I strided forward.Staffs of stores along streets appeared
to be stopping me.I must have got a serious delusion. It took me
over two hours seeking the address.I clearly remembered walking
down the winding lanes,downtown of prosperity where permeated
with the sound of engines of cars. Finally,I reached the house
which was located in a peaceful lane.A holy land as it seemed to
be compared with the rest of Tokyo.Gas lamps stood still like
sentinels,protected this place from being reoded by the devil of
greed.

It located in the extremity of the lane.Apparently the oldest
house among the rest of them in here.The construction resembled
that of a hermit who retreated himself into dense trees.The wall
around the house was straggled by overgrowing weeds.I cautiously
touched the gate and surprisingly found the door opened.I tapped
the door softly,in case it might be broken.Meanwhile,I breathed
quickly while rehearsing the words I was going to say.I'd never
felt so nervous before as my hand shuddered while tapping the
door.The sound was apparently peculiar.

I stood still toward the door for perhaps a few minutes,maybe
longer,till it creaked open.There reached out a skinny and lined
hand which still held the latch of the door.Then was the head
when it was opened in a sufficient.I blinked at the old fellow
who's obviously the owner of the house with a daze,so he did it
to me.

"what'kin'I der fo'yo."

numbled the old man with crappy English to me.

"I'm sorry to bother you."I apologized,"But have you ever heard a
girl named Nakashima Yuko who lived here before."

The old man lifted his head with a shock on his face that it then
turned into a sudden grief.I could imagine him hidding his
tearsfrom coming out.

"I her'grando'farthe'."He said in a dull and trembling tone.

"who're yo',youn'man." "I'm her close friend,she used to be
playing with when she was young,To an extent,she's supposed to be
my best friend.I just come here and want to say hello to her."I
stood awkwardly.The speaking of me sounded more like a
confession.Quite ironic for the situation I was in at that
time.It wasn't one tome that I summoned the courage to looking at
his eyes,but I just couldn't do it. "You've played a terrible
jok'on me,youn' man,Yuko died when she was just a littl' child.It
is impossibl' fo'hir' to have a fliend' you said." I felt myself
being hit by an invisible fist that it pushed me back till
stumbled by stairs."It's impossible,"I yelled"I've just got an E-
mail from her which shew her eagernessof seeingme." "Stop
offending me,son.Yuko's long gone.I don' care what you know about
her,but if you continued libeling my dear granddaughter,I'll not
be tolerant to you/Now,you go!" The old man yanked the door close
with a hump.It's clear that his rage was on the limit.I struggled
up,felt my feet couldn't touch the ground.There I did nothing in
the past several hours except for sitting in the corner
desperately with a strong desire to vomit.The memory of the
figure of Yuko flickered into my brain.I surprisingly felt the
tear went out from my eyes,for the buried images of the time when
I was with her swarmed out from my deep heart. "Yuko,you look
absolutely stunning with the skirt like this." "Oh,is it?Thank
you for your compliment.Kazuya." "Yuko,I haven't seen you coming
out of this street.Why don't you just go out to have fun."
"Because I can't." "You what?" Ah-uh...Nothing,it wasn't that
necessary going out,isn't it." "Why?I found it so much fun."
"......" "Oh,don't be like that,Yuko.Anyway.Yuko is always the
best,the most beautiful and the most sympathetic."
"Arigatou(Thank you),Kazuya." "Why most of the people who live
here don't know you.Are they blind?" "No,they are not blind,they
just didn;t notice me." "Can I still see you even in the
future,when I grow up or become old." "There's no doubt that you
can,if you still remember me." "Oh." "All right.It's terribly bad
lucked to talk aboutthis.Let's play swings." "Whoo!!"(Shriek with
joy) ...... (Memories fading away) The vast darkness of the night
covered everything when I started sobbing.The light and gentle
rain fell down upon me and wetted my suit. I sitted still with no
desire of moving a muscle. "Remember,remember,remember......"The
words came out off the top of my mind.It floated unstably and
spreaded into the far away sky. Meanwhile,a girl covered with
black floated over the roof of the gloom.With a slight movement
which took after a smile,"Remember."She whispered.